Friday, July 13, 2007

Interesting Stuff

7/13/2007 8:02:00 AM

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Fujitsu's got a new bag, baby, and it's called the LifeBook A3130. The business-centric, Vista-ready, 15.4-inch laptop features a 2GHz AMD Turion processor, 2GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, an ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics card with 256MB of RAM, and a DVD-RW optical drive. With Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g, five USB ports, and a bitchin' fingerprint reader / scroll button, you'll be the toast of the boardroom, possibly. The zippy little number also includes a spill-resistant keyboard and a screaming-fast V.90 56K modem. Available right now for the bargain price of $1149.

[Via PCLaunches]

 

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7/13/2007 6:54:00 AM

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Feel that? That's the unexpected stir of nostalgia welling inside of your dorktic-loin. Rest easy, you're not alone. In fact, that picture aroused a deeply seeded HP fanboi-ism long obscured by thick slabs of drab computing plastic and opaque printer ink. The 35s marks the 35th anniversary of the industry defining HP-35 pocket scientific calculator (and death of the sliderule) -- a first to offer basic trig and exponential functions. While HP preserved the original's reverse Polish notation, gone is the single-line of red LEDs which illuminated the childhood wonder of so many budding engineers. The new 35s also introduces an algebraic entry mode for those who find RPN entry just a bit too, well, reversed. Of course, it's fully modern with 800 storage registers, 100 built-in functions, and a large 2-line alpha numeric display with adjustable contrast. Better yet, the 35s will only set you back $60 compared to the $395 it cost back in 1972 -- that's a lot more 8-tracks for your swank Ford Capri, eh Pops?

Read -- HP-35 anniversary video
Read -- HP 35s

 

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7/13/2007 5:39:00 AM

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If you can't wait for the eventual Apple update, then by all means have at it weekend hackers: custom iPhone ringtones can now be yours. Disparate hacks have been cobbled together into a step-by-step guide over at the appropriately named hacktheiphone site. The instructions make use of both the iPhoneInterface and jailbreak hacks which opened up full access to the iPhone's UI and filesystem. Unfortunately, the former only works on the Intel-based Macs at the moment. For those of you a bit wary of screwing the $600 pooch somewhere along the 23 steps, take heed: "everyone [they] know has been able to restore their iPhone fully by using iTunes." So go ahead, we double-dog dare ya. Just report back in the comments how it went, mkay?

[Thanks, HaJo and Richard]

 

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7/13/2007 4:39:00 AM

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In 2005, Greek authorities discovered a plot hatched and executed by unknown sources which allowed the tapping of wireless phones on the Vodaphone network belonging to the country's Prime Minister and other top officials, making it one of the furthest reaching covert infiltrations of a government in history. A recent report from IEEE Spectrum shows that the tap was made possible by a 6,500 line piece of code called a rootkit, the first-ever to be embedded in a phone switch's OS. The complex hack took advantage of aging phone systems by disabling transaction logs on calls and allowing call monitoring on four switches within the teleco's computers, thus sending the call to another phone for monitoring (similar to a legal wiretap). The spies covered their tracks by creating patches on the system which routed the calls around logging software which would have alerted admins, and were only discovered when they tried to update their software. The case clearly exposes holes in call security amongst providers (due largely in part to outdated systems), and suggests the possibility that this kind of thing could easily happen again... to you!

[Via textually]

 

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7/13/2007 3:27:00 AM

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Chalk another one up to the rumor mill, as it looks like the leaked PowerPoint slide we saw just last month was indeed referring to an actual product. Thanks to an FCC filing, we now know that Timex is actually cranking out a Made for iPod timepiece in its Ironman series. The i-Control isn't the most handsome of watches, but it will be available in a water-resistant casing, sport Indiglo backlighting, and play nice with your dock connecting iPod. According to the documentation, users will clip an included RF transmitter into their Pod, which will allow the watch to control the volume, track, and play / pause function so long as the it's within "about ten feet" of your wrist. Of course, it still sports the same alarm, chrono, recall, and interval timer modes as the rest of its siblings, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like you'll see any scrolling track tags on this one. As expected, there's no word on price just yet, but click on through for a more detailed shot of it all sprawled out.

Continue reading Timex's iPod-controlling i-Control watch hits the FCC

 

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7/13/2007 2:32:00 AM

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We haven't seen too many portable audio devices out of Yamaha (well, unless you count scooters), but the company's new BODiBEAT looks like it could be a big hit with runners. The arm-mounted DAP contains an accelerometer that links to the earphone-mounted pulse monitor, enabling the BODiBEAT to play tracks that match your running rhythm, switching songs as you speed up and slow down. It doesn't look the like unit actually changes the speed of your music, so Yamaha has thoughtfully included a range of preloaded beat loops that remix themselves at every tempo to cover any gaps. Good thing, too, since the puny 512MB of memory means you'll be out of music by the end of the block. Expect to see the BODiBEAT popping up at the gym later this summer for an astronomical $299.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

 

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7/13/2007 1:25:00 AM

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Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins' internet ordeal is over, and he has detailed all the painful, laborious, and clearly unnecessary steps needed to put yourself into Cashville with AT&T's cheap-o DSL service over on his website. In the end, the poor guy spoke with what appears to be hundreds of the company's employees, had to "pay" $79.99 for a router (although they offer a mail-in rebate reimbursement), and forked over $50 for AT&T's "activation fee", yet still technically doesn't have service. Regardless, when he's paying a measly $10 $18 a month for his phone and DSL service, and you're still Go-Go dancing on weekends just to cover your voicemail charge, who will really have the last laugh? Hit the read link for all the painful details....

 

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7/13/2007 12:31:00 AM

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Unlike some companies we've seen, it appears that Commodore Gaming is actually keeping its word, as the company has just now released the final details on its lineup of flashy US-bound gaming rigs. The Cg, Cgs, Cgx, and Cxx machines progress gradually from least extreme to highly 1337, and all four can be customized to suit your every fantasy. To give you an idea of what's on tap (if you've got the coin), the Cxx packs a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 processor, twin 500GB 7,200RPM hard drives in a RAID 0 array, 2GB of Corsair RAM, DVD-RW optical drive, an 850-watt power supply, Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, Windows Vista, and dual 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPUs to boot. As far as pricing goes, word on the street is that the base system will start out around $1,700, but we'll know for sure when these come stateside in Q3.

[Via CNET]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/13/2007 12:03:00 AM

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Style-maven Bang & Olufsen has introduced a new DAP into the mix, called the Beosound 6. Breaking from typical B&O design convention -- which can often be a little absurd (see the Beosound 2 and 3) -- the Beosound 6 is a strikingly simple design; a silver, candy-bar shaped audio player with stripped-down controls and a thin LCD display. Specs are light at the moment, but it looks like standard MP3 / WMA playback, 4GB of flash memory (jettisoning the company's previous SD storage scheme), a 65K color LCD screen, and USB connectivity. The player will also be accompanied by a leather case and the company's A8 earphones, and will retail for around £400 ($812 US).

[Thanks, Casper]

 

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7/12/2007 11:12:00 PM

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JVC hasn't shown off any of its fancy Everio camcorders in quite awhile, but it's making a noticeable return with the HDD / SDHC-compatible GZ-HD3. This handheld camcorder does it up right with a built-in 60GB hard drive, MPEG-2 HD recording (though not Full HD, reportedly), and the ability to capture onto SD / SDHC flash cards. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of details beyond that are readily available, but while you wait patiently for a release date and price, feel free to click on for a few more glamor shots.

Continue reading JVC showcases HD Everio GZ-HD3 HDD / SDHC camcorder

 

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7/12/2007 10:25:00 PM

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If there's such a thing as a Logitech fanboy, you can count us among their legions, as we've been more than pleased with almost all of the products (mice, webcams, surround sound speakers, wireless gamepads) that we've ever purchased from the peripherals giant. And we must say, the new MX Air certainly lives up to this enviable reputation. From good hand feel to instinctive reactions in 3D space to the sweet virtual scrollwheel (it even makes a freakin' accelerating and decelerating clicking sound, just like the MX Revolution!), the latest member of the MX family is a pleasure to work with all around, and also features the no-brainer plug-and-play setup that we've come to expect from these devices. We'll have a more detailed hands-on a little later, but for right now you can check out our unboxing pics in the gallery below...

 

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7/12/2007 9:38:00 PM

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After patiently wait for what felt like ages to finally have the Cowon D2 on American soil, here's a tidbit sure to make you early adopters a bit disgruntled. According to a blurb at GenerationMP3, Cowon is planning to release an 8GB and 16GB rendition of its diminutive media player, and additionally, it will reportedly sport a built-in SDHC slot for cramming even more media onboard. In other news, the iAudio X7 is slated to land sometime in September, and will be available in both 40GB and 80GB flavors, but the release of the iAudio X5 is a bit shaky considering that production on the device has "been stopped" for the time being. Per usual, we aren't exactly sold on the legitimacy of these reports, but you won't catch us complaining if a roomier D2 finds its way stateside anytime soon.
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[Via PlayerBites, thanks Gavin]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 8:39:00 PM

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You know, we could understand a few months of Wii shortages, and perhaps we'd let Nintendo slip by the seven month mark with a mild slap on the wrist, but this recent announcement of shortages through the 2007 holidays is just plain annoying. "There is no guarantee that we are not going to have 'out-of-stocks' this holiday season," says George Harrison, senior V.P of marketing for Nintendo of America. "If you see one, buy it. Don't assume that you can come back later and find one." It's not like Nintendo doesn't have the time, cash or know-how to ramp up production. Sure, we don't know all the ins and outs of supply chain management, but it sounds more like Nintendo is enjoying its "can't keep 'em on the shelves" status a bit too much to seriously make an attempt at meeting demand.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 7:59:00 PM

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In addition to patching various security holes, it looks like Apple added "Export to iPhone" and "Export to iPhone (Cellular)" presets to Quicktime 7.2 -- making it easy to spit out .m4v or .3gp files optimized for the iPhone's screen and data delivery options. This isn't a huge surprise, since Quicktime gained Apple TV and video iPod presets shortly after those products were released, but at least now compressing your videos to the postage stamp sizes required for them to stream over EDGE is just a click away.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 7:21:00 PM

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As a staff member here at Engadget can attest, you never know when someone may want your mobile a hair more than you, so we've no qualms with a cellphone that packs its very own form of weaponry to fend off thieves. Of course, this completely conceptual device is highly unlikely to hit production (at least in first-world nations), but there's still something about a transforming mobile that whips out a set of chainguns and walks on its own that would convince us to pick one up. Intrigued? It gets better -- hit the read link to see this monster in action.

 

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7/12/2007 6:51:00 PM

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Nearly 11 months ago to the day, Europe witnessed its very first HD DVD release, and while the battle over format supremacy has been heated and rarely slanted to one corner here in the US, apparently things are vastly different across the pond. According to the (biased?) information spat out by the European HD DVD Promotional Group, "HD DVD players have outsold Blu-ray players by a three-to-one margin in Europe's main markets so far this year," and moreover, it claimed to hold a staggering "74-percent" of the market share in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland for standalone players. So, for those residing in the aforementioned lands, are things really this skewed, or does a certain lobbyist group have their numbers all fuzzed up?

 

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7/12/2007 6:21:00 PM

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Though the original PEBL didn't get quite the love Motorola may have liked (Maria Sharapova special edition notwithstanding), it seems they're looking to give it at least one more go with the upcoming U9 model. Presumably designed to slot in alongside the RAZR 2 V8 / V9 models, Phone Scoop reports that the U9 will be ROKR branded, indicating a strong music tie-in. Other details are sketchy, though there's speculation that the "9" designation in the model number indicates that 3G is in the cards; for Motorola's sake, we hope that's true.

 

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7/12/2007 5:51:00 PM

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We first heard of Philip's BTM-630 Bluetooth music system when it was announced alongside a number of other Bluetooth-equipped systems last month, but it looks like it's just now passed through the FCC's all-important hands, making it one step closer to landing in yours. In case you missed it, this one not only packs an iPod dock, but a built-in CD burner and Bluetooth compatibility to let grab songs from any Bluetooth-equipped cellphone or make some hands-free calls. Those looking for some slightly less glamorous shots of the device can get their fix after the break, while the truly curious can hit up the link below for some shots of the system's innards, along with the complete users manual (all courtesy of our friends at the FCC).

Continue reading Philips BTM-630 Bluetooth music system hits the FCC

 

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7/12/2007 5:21:00 PM

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Olympus is planning on taking head-mounted displays out of the "giant nerd" category and into the "scary dystopian future" realm with a new project to develop a completely wireless system that can also double as eyeglasses. While most other HMDs we've seen feature a cable snaking across your body to an external power pack, Olympus has expanded on its previous efforts (pictured) and is already prototyping a 3-ounce unit with an internal power source powering two side-mounted 110,000-pixel displays that project email onto the lenses. Olympus is optimistically hoping to bring the tech to market in 2012 -- looks like wannabe Terminators are going to be lugging those battery packs around for a while yet.

 

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7/12/2007 4:51:00 PM

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It looks like we could soon be in for a good old fashioned price war, with talk of yet another PS3 price cut already spreading just days after the last one became official. What's more, this latest rumor appears to be based on more than just idle speculation, coming instead from Capcom's Capcom Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe, who told Reuters that the price "is likely to be cut again towards the end of the year," adding that he expects the PS3's installed base to "grow gradually." While there's no indication of just how big a price cut it'd be, any further drop would certainly put a crimp in Microsoft's rumored plans for a significant price cut of its own, though we doubt too many other people will be complaining.

 

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7/12/2007 4:21:00 PM

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Not really sure how much mileage Apple is going to get out of this patent, with Zune and pretty much everybody else already swapping songs and such wirelessly, but we'll humor 'em all the same. A September 1st, 2006 filing describes methods "for delivery of data to a portable electronic device from another electronic device." For sake of argument, we'll assume they're talking iPhones and iPods here. Applications are pretty broad, ranging from various protected and unprotected media files, to news subscriptions and shopping lists, and syncing can be done automatically and manually. In a definite step above the level of sharing offered by the Zune, subscription files can be shared in an unlimited manner with other subscription users -- though of course that would all be contingent on Apple ever offering a subscription-based iTunes to its users.

 

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7/12/2007 3:51:00 PM

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Word on the street is that Fujitsu-Siemens is going to introduce its first entry into the not-so-crowded Windows Home Server market under the Scaleo brand at this year's IFA conference in late August. The Scaleo Home Server will feature headless operation under Vista Home Server, a two disk 500GB SATA RAID array, gigabit Ethernet, and Energy Star 4.0-compliant energy usage of just 50W. Price estimates are ranging from €500 ($690) to €700 ($965), and availability is hazily pegged at "by the end of the year" -- projections that match the awesome blurriness of this render.

[Via We Got Served]


[Thanks, tip-star]

 

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7/12/2007 3:21:00 PM

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Continuing on with its new product blitz, Samsung today unveiled its new MM-X5 iPod speaker dock / alarm clock. Sammy's being a little shy with with pics, but we're told the 20-watt piano black unit features an iPod dock, FM tuner, slot-loading CD player, and a USB port for non-iPod sources. Expect to see these popping up in September for around $199.

 

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7/12/2007 2:51:00 PM

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It looks like high-end PC maker Alienware might soon be following its parent company into the wilds of retail sales, at least according to French blog LaptopSpirit, which claims to have heard as much from Alienware's French marketing director. According to the site, the company could begin selling its systems in "selected stores" as soon as first quarter of 2008, with the retail push expected to extend to every country that Alienware currently sells computers in. While Dell's newfound retail love would certainly seem to make a similar move by Alienware a distinct possibility, we'd still recommend taking this with a grain of salt pending some harder evidence.

Update: We just got word from Alienware's public relations arm that the company "has no plans to enter retail outlets at this time." They did also state that they "would never rule out any distribution method" either though, so take that as you will.

 

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7/12/2007 2:28:00 PM

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LA-area readers! We know you've been asking us for years to do a reader meetup in your humble little town of, what, five, maybe ten million? Well, we didn't quite have enough time to put together a full on Engadget event of our own, but our bestest buds at Joystiq are doing a little something and Peter and myself will be on hand to chum it up with LA-area gadget and game geeks. We can't guarantee the usual free booze + tshirts + gadget giveaways, but we can guarantee a good old fashioned geek-out at to Mahalo HQ in Santa Monica. So leave us a comment if you think you'll be able to come on out tomorrow!

When: 6PM-9PM on Friday 13th
Where: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (Google Maps link)

And yes, this event is all ages!

 

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7/12/2007 2:21:00 PM

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Yeah, you thought you were living the high life with that pair of rechargeable batteries and tennis racket attachments you ponied up for -- too bad you weren't even halfway to awesome. Nyko's new "Wii Party Station" is the only way to live, with room to charge four Wiimotes, hold and chill four adult beverages and room to house the all important chip and dip bowl and various Wiicessories. Best of all is the completely superfluous score board to make your smack talk so much more effective, and the hand cooling fan really seals the deal. For $25, if you don't have one of these 12 seconds after they hit store shelves, we can't be friends anymore.

 

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7/12/2007 1:51:00 PM

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Seems like everyone is getting in on the brightly-colored laptop game these days, with Gateway now following Dell and others in offering an alternative to the usual monochromatic look. While complete details are still a little light, the company's new M and T-series laptops will apparently boast 15.4-inch and 14.1-inch displays, respectively, along with your choice of Core 2 Duo processors, optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, optional HD DVD or Blu-ray drives, and resolutions up to 1920x1200 (on the M-series). Sure to attract the most attention, however, are those colors, with Crimson Red and Pacific Blue options available in addition to the more subdued Slate Gray, each of which feature Gateway's "Ridgeview" graduated sphere pattern, which looks to be slightly less garish than some patterns we've seen. Look for these to roll out by the end of the month, with prices starting at $900.

 

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7/12/2007 1:21:00 PM

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Chris Hughes -- the gent who brought us the RoombaWii -- is up to new shenanigans and this time with an iPhone. Apparently using a bit of software that is "... close to being releasable ..." he was able to add the "CTU" ringtone -- yeah, we know, poor choice -- to his iPhone. Of course, this would be dead-easy to dupe -- and we can't verify 100 percent either way -- but his honest demeanor, striking resemblance to Matt Damon, and previous tricks help us to at least hope that there is a shred of truth in this. Check the vid after the break.

[Via Wirelessinfo.com]

Continue reading Video hints at customized iPhone ringtones

 

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7/12/2007 12:51:00 PM

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Hot on the heels of Sony's well received PS3 price drop and various rumors to this effect, Microsoft's Shane Kim has admitted in an interview that Microsoft needs to cut the 360's price to lure casual gamer types that are currently falling for the Wii. "We need to compete effectively for that customer and part of that is getting to the mass market price point for the console," said Kim. "WeKim. "We definitely are working on that area." He also mentioned that no such announcement will be made at E3, and there's always that hairy little problem of "profitability" that Microsoft's games unit has contended with for ages. Luckily, that new Falcon chipset should ease the pain a little bit. Kim also mentioned in the interview that Microsoft "feels very good with where we are at right now," and doesn't feel the heat from Sony's price cut, but we'll see how long that optimism lasts.

[Thanks, Robert W]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 12:31:00 PM

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In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors from Vancouver General Hospital detail the case of a 37-year-old jogger who was admitted for treatment of lightning-related burns on his neck, face, and chest -- and they say that the iPod the man was wearing conducted the current through his body. According to the letter, the man's eardrums were ruptured, his jawbone broken in four places, and both of his jaw joints were dislocated when lighting struck a tree near the runner during a storm. The doctors say that while the use of an iPod won't increase your chances of being stuck by lightning, the metal in the device's earbuds can direct current "to and through" ones head. This is strikingly similar to this case that we saw in July of last year, though it can be assumed that any earphone-equipped music device could have this rare effect, so don't go dumping your Apple stock just yet.

[Thanks, psxp]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 12:01:00 PM

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It looks like Microsoft might be considering shaking up its Zune Marketplace a bit, with a recent patent application revealing its plans for "off-line economies for digital media" or, in effect, paid Zune sharing. Basically, users would be paid a sales commission for sharing songs with other Zune users -- only if that user actually ends up purchasing the track after the usual three free plays, that is. What's most interesting, however, is that the system could potentially work with "pirated" music as well, with the application specifically stating that "even resale of pirated media content benefits the copyright holder." Of course, there's no indication as to when or if the system may actually be put in place, though it would certainly seem to go some way towards making the Zune more "social" -- in a bugging your friends to join Columbia House sort of way.

[Via ZuneScene]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 11:41:00 AM

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If you've been worrying that small children weren't frightened enough when you pedaled your bike down the street, 22-year-old Luke Pannell, a Brunel University industrial design student, is here to help. The young inventor has created a biking helmet that he's dubbed "Breathe Air," which in addition to looking like a cross between Michael Myers, a Storm Trooper and The Predator, also features a filtering "shield" over the mouth and nose, which cuts particles and dust, then expels them through a plastic tube when the user exhales. The helmet isn't currently in production, but the designer hopes to find a manufacturer, then market the device for around £100. Now all it needs is an attached Bluetooth headset so you can communicate back to the Death Star without taking your eyes off the road.

[Via Boing Boing]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 11:16:00 AM

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Anonymous PMP manufacturer Zarva has introduced a new model into the sea of do-it-all players, dubbed the DV MV209. The cellphone-styled PMP features a 16-million color, 2.8-inch screen, and can play MPEG-4 and AVI video content, as well as the typical set of MP3, WMA, FLAC and APE files. Additionally, the player can access SD cards up to 2GB, and appears to feature a built-in camera (though with an indeterminate resolution, as info on this model is scarce). No word yet on pricing or availability, but you can be quite certain you'll have to do some mail-ordering if you want to get your hands on this guy.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 10:51:00 AM

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Two things come to mind whilst perusing the website for the Billet Aluminum Steering Wheel (which is both constructed from billet aluminum, and manufactured by the Billet company) accessory for the Wii. The first, of course, is that this is really nothing new. The second is that this is a pretty classy version of nothing new (especially compared to some of the other, um... models). The concept is simple: you strap your Wiimote onto the blue, anodized aluminum frame, and bam, you're driving a lightweight, blue, virtual car. The wheel is made from aircraft quality metal, which the company claims can "literally smash the competition to pieces" -- and while we don't condone violence, we would like to see a video of the aforementioned event. Available now for the low, low price of $44.95.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 10:26:00 AM

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The European Space Agency announced this week that its three-armed robot -- affectionately dubbed Eurobot -- recently underwent a Weightless Environment Test (or WET), and passed with flying colors. The bot's three arms ae arms are similar in size and strength to their human counterparts, although Eurobot's limbs are jointed in seven places, thus allowing them to move and pivot in ways human arms cannot. The "neutral buoyancy" test was meant to examine whether or not the robot would be able to complete simple tasks such as putting away tools and equipment, or holding objects for workers in a weightless scenario. The hope is that Eurobot will make its way to the ISS, where it will enable astronauts to accomplish repairs and maintenance with greater speed and safety. Needless to say, HAL was unimpressed.

[Via New Scientist]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 10:06:00 AM

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The French PMP-maniacs over at ArchosLounge gotten their hands on the biggest and baddest of Archos' fifth-generation lineup, the 605 WiFi, and it looks like the device is pretty sweet. The user interface is praised as being exceptional, using 3D effects and the whole of the 4.3-inch touchscreen to make navigation simple. That screen wins high marks for another reason, as well: while it's a tiny bit grainy, the scratch-resistant surface somehow doesn't pick up any fingerprints or get greasy -- the bane of all touch devices. The Opera browser has been refined and now works with more websites (no Flash, though), while video streaming seems to work as advertised, although content is currently a little limited. Other than that, the only downsides seem to be the lack of an IM client and the fact that thinness comes at its usual price: the battery is no longer user-replaceable. We're not complaining, though -- this $300 music-playing, video-streaming, PDF-reading, widgetized wonder seems like a hit to us. Check the read link for the entire massive review, and here's hoping that recent FCC approval means we'll see this thing hit shelves in the States soon.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 9:26:00 AM

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Robbie Bach, Microsoft's executive in charge of the Xbox game console, raised a few eyebrows recently when he sold millions in Microsoft stock just prior to going public with Xbox 360 woes. In a review of SEC filings, Robbie sold some $6.2 million worth of company stock between May 2 and Microsoft's July 5th announcement of charges exceeding $1 billion for Xbox 360 repairs. It is of course perfectly normal for high-ranking corporate execs to turn over company stock. However, this is typically done according to a schedule in order to deflect concerns over insider trading -- Bach's trades followed 8 months of zero sales. Microsoft's stock did not make a significant move after the annothe announcement which, in legal hindsight, has led some insider watchdogs to give Robbie the benefit of the doubt. We'll see if the SEC is so forgiving.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 8:42:00 AM

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Dell China is setting its sights on "emerging markets" with its new Mini-ITX PC, the EC280. The low-power, small-footprint PC appears to be the same model that we mentioned back in March, which Dell is taking head-to-head with competition like Lenovo and Founder. The handsome little box comes with Windows XP Home Edition pre-installed, and has a 1.2GHz Celeron M 205 processor, 256MB or 512MB of memory, a 40GB or 80GB HD, and a CD (!) or DVD-ROM drive. Clearly with these specs, the EC280 is aimed at no-frills, general computing tasks, but at this price point (around $340), it should make a decent impact in places like China, where a typical desktop is twice the cost.

[Via mini-itx]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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7/12/2007 8:13:00 AM

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Don't call it an i-EGG, that's obviously the Digital Olive from Sofmap. Riiiight. Measuring just 3.1-inches around the waist and 5.5-inches long, this three s three piece DAP with integrated 3-watt speakers lacks any built-in storage making due with a line-in jack or MP3/WMA playback from SD/MMC or devices slung off its USB host port. Unfortunately, it doesn't pack a headphone jack so you're stuck with listening to those tiny, tinny speakers. Ah well, yours in Japan starting July 24th for just ¥5,980 or about $49 for a good OEM idea gone bad.

[Via Impress]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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